Cars & Motorbikes Suggestions for a new car

It's time to shop around for something that doubles as a town car and also suitable for my beloved road trips. Problem is that we keep changing our mind about what to get.

With all the talk of electric vehicles, I am concerned about spending about $25k on a near new diesel vehicle that is very comfortable and can tow a medium sized caravan when needed and doesn't cost a fortune for fuel and tyres like traditional 4WDs.

I want a Subaru Outback (with bling) because they look good and they are higher off the ground than the Liberty. Mr Angel is looking at a Hyundai Santa Fe and other SUVs due to comfort and budget compared to typical truck 4WDs. We considered a Camry (can tow) but there was some reason it doesn't tick all the boxes.

I dont want to buy a ten year old car (for low $) if it is going to have things needing replacement, or is that a good idea given the govt will be taxing diesel like crazy in about five years time and my car will be worthless again so soon?

 

Hyundai, only because of having such a long warranty period
When you get 5 years down the track you will look back and think wow, that worked out to be great value

 

I am sure most of the car manufacturers have 5+ years warranty.
Kia has 7 and so does Hyundai. Subaru has 5 years.

 

I'm looking at the Toyota Hybrid RAV4 for our "long distance" cruising car - but might be a bit small for a caravan ... https://www.toyota.com.au/rav4

Might be a bit more than you wanted to spend tho, at around $40-50k for 2019 model

 

a vote for Subaru outback. We passed our 2004 outback onto one of our adult kids (with a family) in 2015 when we bought another outback. Both cars still going well. We spend a lot of time in national parks on dirt roads and camping - they are great. Just back from western plains area NSW so lots of dirt and dust. The 2015 car has a lifetime average of 8.4l/100km.

 

How far out bush do you go on your road trips?

Only asking is because of spare parts. Once you go remote the only thing you can normally find parts for are Toyota's to a large extent.

In the NT over 50 percent of all cars sold start with a T and end with an A due to as-good-as-it-gets reliability and spare parts availability.

That being said everyone I've ever met who has owned a Subaru has raved about them.... It just the spare parts thing that would give me pause, but only if you're going properly remote.

 

Recent model Triton, Hilux, Ranger, Colorado etc.

Good mileage, comfy, drives like a car, plenty of storage.

 

Dmax or mux... reliable.

 

Thanks everyone!

As remote as you can go staying on the bitumen. Last little trip was to Uluru and Kings Canyon via Broken Hill, Wilpena Pound, Cooyong (beyond Adelaide), home via West MacDonell Ranges, Mt Isa, Winton etc.

Next time I want to do WA while we can still afford the fuel. So yeah, remote.

*Darwin is easy - fly in, hire a campervan for two weeks, return camper and go on a fishing trip, fly home again.

 

Sounds like fun. If you are doing some serious touring - maybe think about trailer ball weight and load distribution hitches etc. The subi looks a little low in the rear ...

 

load distribution hitches are a poor solution - especially if travelling on rough roads or through dips.

Cheers,
inertia

 

The Santa Fe gets rave reviews from all quarters. Depending on the size of the van you are planning to tow, check the ball weight spec - I think the Santa Fe can get an upgraded tow pack. (but diesel - see below)

Regarding the cluster of diesel utes (and 7 seater versions), personally I am avoiding these due to the diesel aspect. It is a terrible pollutant, worse than petrol, but probably more significantly for me, my type of driving does not lend itself to a diesel engine. I dont rack up many kms. Most of the day to day use would be short (less than 10km) trips, with road trips every few months. Given how the pollution control systems for diesels work, I would be needing to get it serviced quite frequently - and servicing on a diesel is more expensive.

I am currently looking to upgrade my 2004 Kluger (I swore I would never buy an SUV, but it ticked the boxes when we had a 2.5yo and twins on the way. It is terrible on fuel - which I dont really care about as we dont drive much, but it also has a relatively tiny fuel tank. When towing it really feels under powered. It has been unbelievably reliable though, and it just does what it says on the box. I am on the market for a proper 4x4, so will am looking for a petrol Prado.

If I ever had the need for a second car, the hybrid rav4 that @Lizzie mentioned looks pretty good.

Cheers,
Inertia.

 

2017 Clubsport. Brrrrrmmm Brrrrmmm. Might be the best investment you make. Bogans of the future might pay top dollar one day.

 

We have a Diesel engine in our 13 year old car (approx 130k’s driven) and it now has quite a few issues, reckon it’s due our regular drives being fairly small trips. So my wishlist for the next car is:
* Able to stack many unicycles in the back easily, even if they are placed between rear wheels (Note that a 36 inch unicycle wheel is huge). And my partner wants it to fit a push bike.
* Towbar attachment
* Dual zone climate control
* Working rear hatch, and nice to have is a hands free hatch opening system.
* Fuel efficient
* Lane guidance and automatic collision avoidance system (we nearly hit a kangaroo tonight, on the M7 of all places)
* Parking assistance (ie. shows how close you are to objects etc)

 

Unless Santa Fe have improved their suspension a Sorrento may be better especially if towing and travelling on rough roads the gear box maybe better for towing and it is probably a little cheaper too . Older models the Sorrento had better suspension than Santa Fe and probably better than most cars as it was designed for Australian conditions. They are good for towing, fuel consumption and don't develop rattles like Toyotas. Mine uses half the fuel my rattling Craptiva used when towing.

 

I know right. My previous car was a VN and I got all the right looks. Can I put a flexi solar panel on the roof though and link up a couple of batteries......

 

We have got hitches now. There are so many reasons why I need a higher vehicle. I am happy to use the camper again on another road trip, it will get upgraded to a real caravan when we get too old and cranky to fluff around with the camper.

 

One day you'll stay in a hotel and say "caravan?"

 

I love all your valuable responses.

 

That would be in Santorini. We also have to squeeze in a two month trip to Europe while we can still afford jet fuel.